I feel I must start this post by commending the S6 involved in setting up the excellent fund-raising quiz in school last night. Thanks to the efforts of Lydia and Sophie in S6, all involved had an enjoyable evening, and raised almost £600 for to be split between Teenage Cancer Trust and the ward charity currently supporting one of our S6 students, J Lamb. Other evening events coming up next week include the Christmas Concert ( Monday), the Rotary Young Musicians (Tuesday evening) and the S6 Christmas Ball on Friday. I am looking forward to these events. I want to thank the staff involved, ably led by Ms Hannah ( Acting CL Expressive Arts) for leading on the planning of the concert.

This week I have been involved in quite a lot of recruitment. From January we will have a full office team following recent appointments, and I also appointed our new Pupil Equity Fund Development Officer, Mrs Jack, who currently works here in SfL and RME. Mrs Jack has been Acting Curriculum Leader in FCT/RME this session and has done a great job running the Faculty at a time of considerable staffing churn. We will also be interviewing for a number of posts in science, music and geography as a result of natural staff turnover during the session. This should see us enter 2018 in a strong position staffing-wise, despite the national shortages. I also assisted the city by interviewing staff wishing to be registered on the supply staff list for the city. Currently, there is a real shortage here which makes it challenging to find subject specialists when natural sickness, CPD, or work for the SQA by our staff requires them to be out of school.

I have also been involved in offering final feedback on personal statements to any S6 requesting this. This is always a pleasure as it allows me to get to understand more about the young people and their future aspirations.

I also want to thank the Computing/Business Education faculty for delivering a successful P5-7 cluster transition visit as part of Hour of Code Week. This went very well, with lots of positive feedback from the primary pupils.

Are you, a family member or friend an engineer, designer, architect, scientist, accountant, technician, doctor/medic/nurse, work in IT or regularly uses maths and technology skills in their job? If so then we would be delighted if you would consider being involved in a careers speed-dating event in school on January the 16th. This will be a great opportunity for them to share a little bit about what you do and can make a significant impact on helping our students think about their own career options.

The event will last for the morning and a lunch will be provided.

If you think you or someone you know would like to be involved then please contact the school directly and Ms Hickinson in science will provide further details
L Hickinson, Acting CL Biology/Lead on STEM
Finally today, I want to share a brief report from one of our S4 students, J Galloway. On Monday he took part in an innovative community event with some other students. I am grateful to Mr Jardine for setting this up and making the opportunity available to the students, who really enjoyed it.

“ On Monday this week, I went to Ester Road with Mr Jardine and 3 other S4 students to meet up with elderly people with dementia. The group was formed to help men with dementia into an environment where they can discuss football memories with each other. It is led by a man called Tommy. He takes the tours and is a part of the Hibernian Community Foundation, which helps people in the community. When we were there we sat and talked with an elderly man and his daughter. He had been a kit man at a top football club for 40 years. We discussed everything to do with football with him. He said he knew some famous football people, including Gordon Smith, very well. I think the project is very good as it helps people who don’t talk much, and gives them a chance to discuss memories with others who share the same interest in football. The group use football memorabilia to prompt memories.”
J Galloway (S4)
I look forward to seeing many of you at the Christmas Concert. I am now off to practise the staff choir pieces! You will be pleased to hear I will not be playing the xylophone this year!